DefyingGravity-related stories
Posted Nov 12th 2009 12:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Glee
(S01E09) If you're a
Glee fan already -- a Gleek -- this episode is going to hit you in the sweet spot. If you're not a
Glee fan, do yourself a favor and go online and watch this one (when it's available). It's just that good.
It may be coincidental, but the focus was on the school and the music. And plenty of character development with Puck, Kurt, and especially Sue. There was no football, no Slushees, no Emma and definitely no Teri. It's looking like
Glee is best when Mr. Schu's personal life is off camera. I haven't missed the Mrs. one bit. More after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Glee - Wheels
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 4:05PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
It's a rare, disturbing sight to watch a television show torn to pieces -- literally.
While on my
set visit for Stargate Universe at Bridge Studios in Vancouver, I stayed with the main press tour. It took us from the main stage holding the massive set of the starship Destiny across the expansive lot to a series off small office buildings housing the show's costume shop and editing bays.
The route took us past the sound stage that once housed the production for ABC's
Defying Gravity. Of course, the ambitious prime time sci-fi drama was canceled early this fall season. So, the cast and crew were long gone.
The sounds coming out of that distant sound stage were strangely tragic. There was the grinding of band saws, the pounding of sledgehammers and the growling of large cranes -- all working together to tear the show's elaborate sets to pieces.
Continue reading Set visits reveal ghosts of Defying Gravity set destruction
Posted Sep 19th 2009 9:00AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, Cancellations, Reality-Free
I thought
Defying Gravity was over.
Kona wasn't sure, but had little hope. The internet ran with it and there were unsubstantiated reports that ABC would never air the final five episodes. It was frustrating because it ended just before the big reveal as to what the "beta" entity was. So it looked like it would be another chapter in the long list of television shows that ended on a maddening cliffhanger.
I don't know what those episodes have in store, or if they provide better closure than what we have now, but ABC felt it was important enough to curb the rumors by putting out a statement that
they fully intend to air those last Defying Gravity episodes. They just aren't sure when.
DG was too sci-fi for the audience they were hoping for with the "
Grey's Anatomy in space" tag. There wasn't enough sci-fi for the hardcore science fiction base. At least those of us who toughed it out might get some closure.
Posted Sep 14th 2009 12:30PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
It seems like not even two months ago,
I was interviewing Ron Livingston about his exciting new ABC drama,
Defying Gravity (probably because it was about 6 weeks ago), and now it's gone. After airing only 8 episodes, ABC has just announced that last night's episode of
Gravity would be its last.
Although ABC hasn't given any official word about its cancellation, it wasn't as though it came as much of a surprise, given the show's troubles from the very beginning.
According to Ace Showbiz, "It premiered to only 3.83 million viewers on August 2 and the number has constantly deteriorated since then. Last week, ABC has excluded listing
Gravity on the schedule after the September 13 episode but did not give explanation to that."
The fact that everyone from the show's producers to its actors kept on describing
Defying Gravity as "
Grey's Anatomy in space," probably didn't help matters much either. I've seen most of the episodes, and while it could have done with a lot less
Grey's-like twinkly music to signify emotions, it was a perfectly passable summer show. Luckily, for all of you fans out there,
SlashControl has all of the episodes available to view online.
What do you think? Are you sad to see it go, or are you amazed it lasted this long?
Posted Sep 4th 2009 1:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Utilizing the same international cost-cutting model that brought us
Mental and
Defying Gravity this summer,
FOX is moving forward with Jack and Dan, a comedic procedural from Matt Nix. Nix is best known for being the creator of
Burn Notice, a smoking hit for USA.
J&D is more a straight-up cop drama, telling the story of two partners on the street.
Jack is ambitious and follows the rules. Dan is a drunken lech who should have been fired years ago. Probably would have been, too, if it weren't for a heroic act earlier in his career. I have to say, lighter fare is a better direction for these lower budget direct-to-series projects than what we saw this summer.
Cable has it right. People want fun and sexy for summer. The shows under this model get a 13-episode commitment; so why not go all the way with it and try to compete directly with cable? After all, cable is winning summers right now.
Continue reading Burn Notice creator Nix bringing similar tone to FOX's Jack and Dan
Posted Aug 27th 2009 9:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
What an interesting summer for television. In general, the claim that
television viewing reached an all-time high this summer doesn't really surprise me. After all, we're in what the media tells us is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. That means more people out of work and less money for everybody.
People out of work and unable to find work are going to be bored, so they're going to watch television. People with less money are going to stay home more often, so they're going to watch television. That part makes sense to me. The part that is a little surprising, but only a little, is that all of that record viewing went to the cable networks and not the big four.
There was not a single break-out summer success story on ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX. Every single show they put on the air either crashed and burned, or barely stayed afloat. But the story is so very different on cable. Week after week we got new stories about original series breaking records on almost every network.
Continue reading TV just had its most-watched summer ever while the big four struggled
Posted Aug 17th 2009 8:10AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Cancellations, Ratings
It's not really possible that every summer premiere on the great
American broadcast TV schedule crashed and burned, is it?
But, out of all the original programs that premiered on the major networks after the completion of the fall 2008 season, not a single one got traction.
According to
analysis reports, you can take your pick from any of the following shows:
Defying Gravity,
The Superstars,
The Listener,
Mental,
The Philanthropist,
Hitched or Ditched,
Merlin and
Great American Road Trip. All of them bombed -- each hovering just above a one market share.
In fact, you don't need numbers to prove that the fall crop crapped out. Ask your friend what his/her favorite summer replacement show was. You'll be waiting awhile.
Continue reading Entire summer TV schedule declared a failure
Posted Aug 4th 2009 8:57PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Cancellations, Ratings, NCIS, Reality-Free
Amid the CBS Summer Press Tour this week, the subject came up about why the network had
cancelled Without A Trace. It wasn't ratings, which is clearly the truth because just this past weekend,
Without A Trace was pulling over six million viewers for a rerun, doubling the number of people who tuned in for the brand new ABC series,
Defying Gravity. Therefore, if
Without A Trace was still capable of besting the fodder produced by the competition, why on earth would CBS dump it?
"Every show has its own life cycle," said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler, who went on to explain that the shows the network had in development were just too good to wait. In other words,
The Good Wife, Three Rivers and
NCIS: Los Angeles, none of which are proven hits, were more important than an established success.
Continue reading The real reason Without A Trace was cancelled
Posted Jul 31st 2009 11:32AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Ron Livingston, who is probably best-known for his role as the lovable slacker, Peter Gibbons, in the cult classic,
Office Space, is no stranger to television. He played the rakish captain Lewis Nixon on HBO's seminal miniseries,
Band of Brothers, and will go down in Pop Culture history as Berger, the douche who broke up with Carrie via Post-It note on
Sex and the City.
This summer, Livingston is starring in the new ABC drama,
Defying Gravity, with a special two-hour premiere on Sunday, August 2, at 9:00. Described, to the dismay of many, as "
Grey's Anatomy in Space,"
Gravity follows a group of astronauts on a planetary mission 40 years from now. While everybody's sleeping with their coworkers, they aren't quite as angst-ridden about it as their
Grey's counterparts. These astronauts cut through all the BS and get down to the business of doing it in zero gravity, as any rational person would.
Recently, I was able to chat with Ron Livingston about
Defying Gravity. We talk about some of the more mysterious elements of the show, how he prepared for the role, and why they're wearing t-shirts in the future, instead of Mylar jumpsuits.
(There aren't any major spoilers, but we do discuss the pilot, so keep that in mind).
Continue reading Ron Livingston says that "Grey's Anatomy in Space" pretty much sums up Defying Gravity
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